Napo’s General Secretary, Ian Lawrence, attended the launch event of the Make Equality Real Campaign at the House of Commons on 22 April.
The campaign was founded in May 2024 as a direct result of the resolution passed at the previous GFTU Biennial conference and is supported by 16 National Trade Unions. A petition was handed in at 10 Downing Street prior to meeting in Parliament attended by cross-party MPs.
Ian said: “The need for the campaign is due to the fact that when the Equality Act was passed in 2010 it did not include a Socio- Economic Duty (SED) on employers to take steps to eradicate poverty pay and embed cross sector collaboration between service providers and local authorities to encourage investment in disadvantaged communities with a much greater emphasis on educational opportunities.
“A pledge to introduce the SED was included in the Labour Party Manifesto in the lead up to the 2024 General Election and currently there is an invitation to submit evidence to the Government with the aim of creating a public commission that can oversee the implementation of the SED in a transparent way.
